Residents of Kherson celebrated the end of Russia's eight-month occupation for the third straight day Sunday, even as they took stock of the extensive damage left behind in the southern Ukrainian city by the Kremlin's retreating forces.
"It's a new year for us now," said Karina Zaikina, 24, who wore on her coat a yellow-and-blue ribbon in Ukraine's national colors."For the first time in many months, I wasn't scared to come into the city."But even as locals rejoiced, the evidence of Russia's ruthless occupation was all around, and Russian forces still control some 70% of the wider Kherson region.
Downtown stores were shuttered. With many people having fled the city during the Russian occupation, the city streets were thinly populated. Many of the few people venturing out Sunday carried yellow and blue flags. On the square, people lined up to ask soldiers to autograph their flags and rewarded them with hugs. Some wept.
The Russian pullout marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine's pushback against Moscow's invasion almost nine months ago. In the past two months, Ukraine's military claimed to have retaken dozens of towns and villages north of the city of Kherson. The reversal came despite Putin's recent partial mobilization of reservists, raising troop numbers by some 300,000. That has been hard for the Russian military to digest.
Ukrainian police called on residents to help identify collaborators with Russian forces. Ukrainian police officers returned to the city Saturday, along with public broadcasting services. The national police chief of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, said about 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine works to stabilize Kherson after Russian pulloutThe Ukrainian military is carrying out “stabilization measures” near an important southern city following the end of Kherson's eight-month occupation by Russian forces.
Read more »
Ukraine vows to drive out Russian forces after retaking Kherson“We don’t forget anyone; we won’t leave anyone.” Ukraine’s president vows to keep pushing Russian forces out of his country after they withdrew from the southern city of Kherson.
Read more »
Russian zookeeper kidnaps animals from Kherson, Ukraine saysVideos show Oleg Zubkov taking animals from Kherson Zoo to his Crimean safari park. It's one of many instances of fleeing Russians looting Ukrainian cities.
Read more »
Ukraine Looks to Cement Full Control of Kherson After Russian RetreatUkrainian forces moved to re-establish full control over the key southern city of Kherson, filling a vacuum left by Russian troops who left it in one of the biggest reversals of the war
Read more »
Ukraine works to stabilize Kherson after Russian pulloutThe Ukrainian military carried out “stabilization measures” near the southern city of Kherson on Saturday following the end of an eight-month occupation by Russian forces.
Read more »